Ken Salazar dips his toes back into Colorado politics

It’s been many years since Ken Salazar waded into Colorado politics, let alone a bill in the legislature.

Yet there he was Friday, wearing his signature cowboy hat and bolo tie, encouraging state lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at stopping construction of a fence around Cielo Vista Ranch in the San Luis Valley, where Salazar is from.

“It is an honor for me to be back here in Colorado, to be here at the Capitol of this wonderful and great state,” he said, days after returning from his post as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, kicking off his appearance at a news conference steps from the Colorado governor’s office. “I love this state from one corner to another, from the south to the north, from the east to the west, and my place in my home in the San Luis Valley is something which is near and dear to my heart.”

The news conference comes as the former U.S. senator and interior secretary and Colorado attorney general has been rumored to be interested in running for governor in 2026. He passed on running to be the state’s top executive in 2018, writing in a Denver Post editorial announcing his decision that “my family’s well-being must come first.”

Salazar, who turns 70 in March, used the news conference to flex his deep knowledge of Colorado and the valley, such as how the Mexican land grant affected the area.

“It’s part of the history that I have lived through in my life,” he said.

SALAZAR SIDESTEPS 2026 QUESTIONS

In a brief interview after the news conference, Salazar sidestepped questions from The Unaffiliated about his interest in running for governor in 2026 and how he will make up his mind.

“I’m here to represent today just the voices of San Luis and residents of Culebra Peak,” he said. “That’s the purpose that I came today.”

Salazar, however, admitted that you would probably have to go back to his time as Interior secretary to find a similar Colorado issue that he got involved with.

POLITICAL DYNAMICS

The only major Democrat currently in the 2026 race for governor is Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who received early backing from Salazar.

In fact, Weiser may owe some credit for his victory to Salazar, who recorded videos making sure voters knew he wasn’t related to Weiser’s Democratic primary opponent, former state Rep. Joe Salazar. Weiser narrowly beat Joe Salazar.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

• The Joint Budget Committee is meeting throughout this week and next as it continues drafting the state’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget, which takes effect July 1.
• Senate Bill 3, which would ban the manufacture and sale of certain semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and handguns that can accept detachable ammunition magazines, will get its first hearing at 2 p.m. today in the Old Supreme Court at the Colorado Capitol before the Senate State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
• The Colorado GOP will hold a virtual meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to consider a number of bylaw amendments that would make it easier for Chairman Dave Williams and his allies to pursue their agenda and retaliate against members of the party who tried to remove the party’s current leadership slate.

THE BIG STORY

Ethics investigation into Sonya Jaquez Lewis gets underway — and immediately hits some speed bumps

The Colorado Senate Ethics Committee met for nearly four hours Friday to begin its work reviewing the complaint filed against state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis by her former aides.

On the surface the allegations are simple — the Longmont Democrat is accused of mistreating many staffers over many years — but whether she has violated the Senate’s ethics policy is less apparent.

The committee is tasked with determining whether Jaquez Lewis’ alleged misconduct constitutes a violation of the legislature’s rules, or the state’s laws or constitutional provisions. They may also find that Jaquez Lewis violated “other ethical principles,” though those aren’t defined.

Also undefined is the overarching rule that lawmakers uphold “the public trust” and the “integrity of the General Assembly.”

“There’s no specific elements that define integrity and public trust,” Christy Chase, deputy director of the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, told the committee Friday. “That’s the challenge for you all to figure out. What conduct would constitute a violation?”

Also complicating the five-senator panel’s work is the fact that grievances filed against Jaquez Lewis with the Office of Legislative Workplace Relations by her aides are technically confidential and could only be provided to the committee with the permission of those who filed them.

The ethics complaint says the grievances were filed in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The legislature’s lawyers warned the committee that tracking down the people who filed them may not be so easy.

Jaquez Lewis has until Friday to respond to the complaint. The committee has 30 days — or until Feb. 20 — to make a determination as to whether there is probable cause that an ethics violation was committed.

If the committee determines there is probable cause, Jaquez Lewis would have seven days to request an evidentiary hearing. The hearing would have to be held within 14 days of the request.

Jaquez Lewis didn’t attend the four-hour hearing Friday. Committee members asked the legislature’s lawyers to track down documents cited in reporting by The Colorado Sun, Colorado Public Radio and The Denver Post about the senator’s alleged mistreatment of her aides. They also asked the attorneys to pursue bank records showing alleged campaign finance violations.

Jaquez Lewis has chalked up the allegations to misunderstandings and financial management mistakes.

The committee is next scheduled to meet Feb. 4.

THE POLITICAL TICKER

PHIL WEISER

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser transferred nearly $160,000 to his 2026 gubernatorial campaign from the Democrat’s 2022 reelection campaign.

YADIRA CARAVEO

Democrat Yadira Caraveo ended last year with just $4,345.26 in her campaign’s bank account. That’s a paltry amount should she decide to run in 2026 to reclaim her seat in the 8th Congressional District.

ELECTION 2028

Gov. Jared Polis wasn’t included in The Washington Post’s list of 12 Democrats who “make the most sense” for the party to run for president in 2028.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was atop the list, followed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

READ MORE

• Manny Rutinel, Democratic state representative, is running in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District
• Dana Crawford, credited with saving Denver’s Larimer Square from destruction, dies at 93
• How Donald Trump’s return-to-office order will affect the 45,000 federal employees throughout Colorado
• Federal lawmakers push to revive lapsed Colorado River conservation program
• Colorado’s 81-year-old labor law faces overhaul by Democrats as business groups fight to save “compromise”
  — The Denver Post ????
• Federal judge rejects attempt to block Colorado law requiring public schools to honor a student’s chosen name
  — Colorado Politics ????
• Republican push to repeal Colorado’s cage-free egg law falls in first hearing
  — The Denver Post ????
• Polis insists Colorado is not a sanctuary state
  — 9News
• Denver Mayor Mike Johnston rebukes Congressional Republicans after committee request to testify on “sanctuary city” policies
  — CBS Colorado

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ELECTION 2024

What were the deciding issues for Colorado voters as they filled out their 2024 ballots

Nearly a third of active voters in Colorado said the economy and cost of living were the most important issues they considered when deciding who to vote for in November.

About one-in-four voters said immigration was their top issue, while 11% each said combating Donald Trump, abortion rights, and candidate character and integrity were deciding issues in how they filled out their ballots last year.

That’s according to a poll conducted from Dec. 15-22 by Keating Research, a Democratic pollster, on behalf of One Main Street Colorado, a centrist Democratic group. The poll was conducted among 1,225 active voters, including oversamples in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe and Larimer counties, as well as the Western Slope. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points.

Yes, the poll is a bit old, but many of its findings still help paint a picture of what happened Nov. 5.

Unsurprisingly, the largest share of poll participants (29%) said the most important issues or challenges facing Colorado were the economy and cost of living, followed by housing costs (27%) and immigration (24%). Eighteen percent of those polled said climate change and the environment were top issues, followed by crime and public safety and homelessness.

When asked what priorities the Democratic Party should focus on, 24% said the economy and cost of living, followed by 16% who said “listening to voters” and “reducing corporate influence.” About one-in-10 voters said the party should focus on immigration.

Poll participants were more split on why Democrats lost the presidency and Congress, with 24% saying they were out of touch with voters, 18% saying their messaging and communication was poor and another 18% saying that economic concerns were the party’s downfall.

Broken down by party registration, the largest share of Democrats participating in the poll (26%) said messaging was the party’s biggest problem, while the largest share of unaffiliated voters (20%) said that being out of touch with voters cost Democrats in the election. The largest share of Republicans (38%) thought that Democrats being out of touch was their downfall.

A majority of poll participants — as well as registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters — said the Democratic Party should “move to bridging the divide to find workable answers” going forward. Fourteen percent of participants, including 26% of registered Democrats, said the party should move more to the left.

President Donald Trump’s favorability was underwater in Colorado mid-December.

Forty-four percent of poll participants said they had a favorable view of him, while 55% had an unfavorable view of him.

Among registered Republicans, 87% had a favorable view of him, while 12% had an unfavorable view of him. Among Democrats, 97% had an unfavorable view of him.

Among unaffiliated voters, 42% had a favorable view of him while 57% had an unfavorable view of him.

COLORADO OPPORTUNITY CAUCUS

One Main Street Colorado has riled some in recent years by backing more moderate candidates in Democratic legislative primaries. Now its participation in the formation of the Colorado Opportunity Caucus is leading to more drama.

The caucus, which is new this year, is led by Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, and Sen. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada. It is made up of five senators and 10 representatives.

We hear that the drama is about who was and wasn’t asked to participate in the group, which says its focus is those “who prioritize solutions over soundbites, collaboration over conflict and progress over partisanship.”

Big picture: Progressives have long had caucuses in the legislature. It’s interesting to see the middle now trying to flex its muscles.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

• “Hit him back twice as hard”: Canada’s No. 1 populist has a risky Trump strategy
  — Politico
• Washington, Seattle brace for second round of fights over “sanctuary” status
  — The Seattle Times ????
• Trump’s first-week strategy: “Flood the zone.” Repeat.
  — The Washington Post ????
• “People will be shocked”: Trump tests the boundaries of the presidency
  — The New York Times ????

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